Whispers of the Mind
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: 'Monster under the bed' AU, ZangurakxCalista. Calista finds a friend underneath the bed one night. But as time goes by, it turns out this monster isn't as...nice...as she thought he was.


**Author note: I do not own the Last Story, nor Zangurak or Calista.**

**...please, for all you Zangurak haters out there, please don't start flaming me because this is a ZangurakxCalista fic. If you don't like, just don't read. Thank you! XD**

**Warning: 'monster under the bed' AU, ZangurakxCalista, onesided Zaelista, onesided JirallxCalista, onesided Therilista, violence**

**Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope that you read, review and enjoy! Thanks!**

* * *

_W**Hi**sPer**s of ****T**h**E **Mi**Nd**_

* * *

_It sounds crazy, but I'm friends with the monster under my bed. Kind of._

_Maybe I'm more like a lover to him. Because every time I've gotten a 'boyfriend' of sorts, they're scared of me the next day, and then they leave me saying that there's something that scared them into not being with me anymore._

_But...it's okay. I love the monster, too. He can be scary. I won't deny that. But I love him anyway._

* * *

It all started when Calista was five years old.

Mommy was sick, Daddy was struggling to get help from the doctors and nurses, and her Uncle was mean and wouldn't let her out of the house.

This left her very lonely and sad.

She just wanted friends. She wished for friends, someone who could stay with her always and never leave her.

Then, one night, it happened. She got a friend in the most unexpected way possible for a five-year-old.

This friend came from underneath her bed.

Monsters under the bed were supposed to be scary. This monster, with flaming red hair and dark eyes from some chasm, seemed to stare at her. He was older than her, obviously, but not old enough to be an adult. The two twin monsters trailing behind him had to be only a few years older than Calista herself, both of them glowing red and blue. Both of them just looked as curious as Calista was to see them.

Calista didn't scream, much to the three monsters' reliefs, but they told her not to scream anyway-apparently they didn't really like being too loud. They were different monsters than what she expected, especially the one with the red hair. What was his name again? Zangurak? Right, that was his name. It took her a few tries to pronounce his name right, much to Zangurak's annoyance, but he otherwise seemed okay with being around her.

Calista found him more nice than scary, despite his appearance.

And that was when she first met him.

* * *

Uncle said that monsters don't actually exist, that it was just her imagination.

But despite growing up and others shedding imaginary friends, she refused to think that Zangurak was imaginary. He was real, so real. He was too real to be thought as a mere imaginary friend.

It was just that, she figured, that he was invisible to everyone except her. That totally had to be the reason why, because Zangurak was too real to be a figment of her imagination. Every night he and the twins(their names were Zesha and Zepha, which Calista thought were cute names for twins) would visit her and they would do things together. Talk. Try to have staring contests. Talk some more. Stare at each other and wonder what in the world to do next. Eat cupcakes and muffins and chips that Calista snuck from the kitchen. Those kind of things.

Apparently, though, the bad part was that they would have to leave by the break of dawn, because monsters under the bed can't live in daylight. And that really sucked for Calista, who didn't have many friends other than those three. At least, though, they always came back from under the bed, telling her about life in their own world with their own fellow monsters (weren't they called Gurak? was that right? Calista had no idea that races of monsters could exist). And then Calista would tell them about her life and the fellow humans around her. Sometimes the stories were pleasant, sometimes others were not so pleasant.

Zangurak, Zepha and Zesha seemed to only like _her_ out of all the humans they had met. That was what they said to her. Zangurak even told her, one day, that he perhaps liked her more than just a friend, and that he vowed to take care of her.

She assumed that she meant by family or as really close friends, and that he meant to take care of her as in to be there when she needed a shoulder to lean on.

She was wrong.

* * *

The first male to ever chase her romantically was Jirall Rambaldt. He harassed her for many, many things, and she did everything she could to avoid even getting into view of him.

The next thing she knew was that he started avoiding her, and then when she finally cornered him after some time and asked, he claimed that a monster had threatened him nights ago to stop even going near her or else the monster would kill him. He disappeared after that and she never really saw him again.

Second was Zael Akira, poor Zael. Only one day after Calista met him did she find him shaking in his shoes, afraid to talk to her in fear of being hurt by the 'monster.' He didn't disappear like Jirall, though. He was still there, but at a distance, nothing but a silent sad and lonely person who she couldn't reach out to.

And then the third, Therius Hawkthorn. He claimed he wasn't scared of 'monsters' or anything like that. He told her that he wasn't going to leave her, that he wouldn't let a 'monster' undo him like the other two did.

He broke down the most.

First it was nightmares. Then came insomnia. And then he started hallucinating and 'seeing' monsters tormenting him.

It was only then that he stopped seeing her altogether. And that just completely broke her heart.

* * *

One night while lounging in her room, when Calista was thinking about the three and what had befallen them, Zangurak came to visit her alone. She explained to him of what happened to those three, that she felt bad for them (even Jirall, who had been an absolute jerk) that they had to end up in this predicament.

Zangurak, however, did not share the same feelings as she did about this issue.

"But they're gone. They're not in the way anymore."

She stared at him as she sat on the bed. "You think that they're 'in the way?' In the way of what?"

The look he gave her was a nasty one. Today was one of his angry days.

"In the way of _us." _He looked downwards for a moment, avoiding her gaze. He'd become so much more handsome and terrifying over the years, now an adult with more muscle mass and a handsome face-handsome for a monster. "Don't you remember the vow I made years ago? That I would take care of you!?" He looked up at her, glaring at her. "Do you think I made sure those people went away for no reason?! It was to protect you!"

That was when it all clicked. She stepped forwards and-

-and for the first time ever-

-she slapped him in the face. _Hard._

Zangurak put a hand to his face, wincing, as she started screaming at him.

"All you've done," She snapped back, "Is to prevent me from having a normal life! Can't you ever let me do what I want?!"

He glared at her once again. "And can't I ever be allowed, Calista, to make you see how much I _care_ for you?!"

"Care for me? _Care for me!?_ All you've done is make me your prisoner!"

In one movement, Zangurak pinned Calista to the bed, one hand grasping hers while the other grabbed at her waist. His eyes bore into hers completely, full of rage, full of frustration.

_"Calista..."_

Her name came out in a hiss from his lips, his hot breath brushing her neck. Calista's eyes widened, and she struggled to pull away from his grasp.

"Let me go-let me go!"

She screamed, she struggled, she tried to hit him again, but he wouldn't let go-

_"Calista?"_

-until both of them heard footsteps pounding up the stairs, the voice of her uncle resounding. Zangurak hissed, pulling away and vanishing just before Calista's uncle, Arganan, opened the door. His one eye was wide with concern.

"Are you alright, Calista? I heard you screaming-"

Calista sat up, trying to ignore the pain coming from possible bruises on her waist and right hand, nodding.

"I-I'm fine." She lied. "Just a nightmare."

* * *

Little did Calista know was that her uncle had started getting suspicious of her talking at night lately.

He'd started doing some research into what happened with the people who attempted to chase Calista romantically, went to the library and read everything that could be useful, (maybe) broke a law or two by staying out so late, letting the nights become sleepless for him. Even the next-door neighbour, Asthar, had helped a bit with this.

Zael. Jirall. Therius. Other people who'd experienced such strange trauma after approaching his niece...he figured it out.

A monster. A_ legitimate monster from under the bed_ was out for his niece because he needed a bride to fully be king, and Arganan knew he couldn't let that happen.

Unfortunately Calista wasn't buying it.

"You think he wants to marry me!?"

"Yes, Calista. This Zangurak I've heard you talk to in your sleep-he's a real creature. A Gurak. And as far as I've figured out, in order for him to be King of the Gurak, he has to take someone from this world and marry her-in this case, you. I can't have that happening. We're moving out."

"We can't just move out! I have friends here-"

"And they're all being affected because of Zangurak trying to claim you as his bride! You don't want them to be in danger, do you!?"

"...I-I don't...I don't want that..."

"Calista, please trust me on this. We have to leave this place if we want anyone here and the both of us to be safe."

"...Okay."

Neither of them realized that they had fully enraged the monster just by speaking of it.

* * *

Calista sipped more of her tea. She was determined to stay awake all night, just in case. She was moving out of Lazulis City tomorrow, going somewhere else to be safe. To have her friends be safe. So she could be safe, and her uncle too.

That was when a scream echoed from outside.

"Uncle!"

She threw herself out of bed, opening the door and rushing down the hallway, her heart nearly beating out of her chest.

_Please, please don't.._

She entered her uncle's room, only to find the room a wreck, Zangurak standing above her uncle, who had a horrid burn mark going down his left arm. Calista gasped, rushing to him, but that was when her uncle spoke.

"D-don't...run." He whispered softly. Zangurak growled, kicking him roughly.

"Stop it!" Calista snapped at Zangurak, pointing a knife at him (She kept it under her pillow in her room, just in case, and now she had a good reason to use it). "Stop it..."

"I will stop," Zangurak snapped, "If you are willing to come with me."

Calista raised an eyebrow. "And you'll leave my uncle alone? Get Zael, Therius and Jirall back to normal?"

Zangurak was silent, still, thinking.

And then he grinned.

_"I will."_

* * *

Asthar was worried. He'd told Arganan about the Gurak, the monster under the bed, what they might be up to with his niece.

And he had the sinking feeling in his chest that they might be too late to prevent Calista from being taken.

He dialed the number, holding the phone and hearing it ring.

_Pick up, pick up, please..._

That was when Arganan picked up the phone.

_"Yes?" _Arganan's voice sounded weary. _"Who...is it?"_

Asthar winced. The older man sounded weak, but it could be due to it being the middle of the night.

"This is Asthar. I was...concerned about you and Calista, with everything going on. Are you both alright?"

There was silence. Asthar blinked.

"Arganan?" He repeated. "Are you both alright?"

There was silence again, before a sob escaped Arganan.

_"She's gone."_


End file.
